FRONT LOADER WREAKS LIKE MOLD...

Hi

Try using bleach with hot water, run a cycle with hot water and bleach. Or spray bleach +water mixture on the seal. Run a cleaning cycle with hot water and bleach or vinegar at least once a month to reduce the growth of mold in other parts of the washer. If the growth is very high then try and leave the door open for 4-5 hours and let it dry and then spray the bleach+water (3:1) mixture on the seal. Let it dry for another 2-3 hours. You may need to change the seal in case of extreme growth of mold. Hope this helps...

Daniel

This video will show you how to change a door seal on this Bosch WFMC 2100UC front loader washing machine
we have all bosch repairs in our channel
You can get seals on eBay

I have never cleaned my washer as i use bleach in with the whites when i wash. its up to you. they do make a cleaner for that.

are you on a well??
do you use bleach in with your whites??
some well water untreated can cause exceptionally stinky machines, especially if no or very little bleach is used during white washing..
usually if you use bleach in with your whites in normal amounts and leave the door open in between uses there should be very little stinky odor or mold growth.
the mold growing on the gasket is a sign of to little bleach or none being used, and/or a really damp environment for the unit to reside in.
they do make several cleaners designed just for stinky front loader washers..
they might help..
i've been using a front loader for 13 years, leave the door ajar between uses, and use bleach in every white load and have had no issues with stinky unless i or someone else doing wash forget and close the door for a couple days, then it gets stinky but goes away after white load with bleach and hot water..
hope this helps,
best of luck,
ttfn

The odor that you are experiencing may be from the growth of mold. Inside the washer, some small pools of water may be left standing and is harboring mold spores. Even though you may operate the washer regularly, the mold spores are not being washed away.I have a couple of tips that might help to eliminate odor issues in your washing machine. First, and the most effective in my research is to, leave the lid, or door to the unit open. By leaving the door open, it promotes air circulation and evaporation of standing water. The reduction in odor, will occur quickly and dramatically.

My second tip is to run the washer empty for a quick rinse cycle. Add an entire cup of bleach at the start of the cycle. The bleach is effective at destroying organisms, such as mold and bacteria. However, running it once will not be completely effective. I suggest pouring another cup of bleach into the wash tub/basket, after the cycle has completed. This will leave bleach as the standing pool and should prevent the growth of mold or bacteria. However, if you do this, before doing a load of laundry you should run an empty rinse cycle again, to avoid damage to the clothes from the bleach left standing in the wash tub.

Barb,

This is a problem with all front loaders. We have used those cleaning tablets in a regular hot cycle per the directions on the box. You can also try placing 1 cup of crystal dishwashing detergent in the tub and fill the soap dispenser with bleach and run a quick cycle full hot.

A nicely moist area,
...could try to kill all the mold with dilute chlorox (put some in a spray bottle--can also use on feet after the gym to prevent contamination from athlete's foot/feet)(or the shower mold killers which usually just have chlorox [sodium hypochlorite or similar]); then in future leave the door ajar when not in use so the area can dry (assume front loading), and if it is the large gasket style that still leaves a moist area behind itself--could put a wedge like a popcicle stick or few to allow air behind the gasket.
...any mold that is visible and therefor in contact with the clothes going in and out, should be easily removed...there should not be any mold in the washing compartment as the bleach and hot water used for whites would always kill the mold; so the only contact point is at the exterior (cleanable) when removing finished clothes.
..likely there is plenty of mold exposure in his environment beyond this----this is nothing like the problem with flood contaminated walls/floors and unseen mold that could spew forth significant amounts of spore load.

Leave washer door slightly ajar after use to air out any moisture. Should prevent any future mold.

Wash on hottest and longest cycle with regular laundry soap and a bottle of vinegar. After cycle, wash again with soap on hottest/longest cycle. This will clean your washer like new.

The new boot has an anit-mildew treatment and should resist any new mold. Also, you should always use the hottest water possible for your clothes, the hot water helps kill the bacteria that causes the odor. Also bleach will kill the bacteria and you should use bleach whenever possible. If you don't like to use bleach on your clothes, or have an allergy to it, then once a month, run the washer without any clothes on the normal cycle, hot wash, and put bleach in the soap dispenser and let the washer clean itself out. The boot is fairly easy to replace except for a spring that holds the boot to the tub front. The spring has a lot of tension, so it is difficult to hold both ends of the band and one end of the spring tight enough while streching it. I usually do it with a pair of vise grips and a pair of pliers, but I've replaced dozens of boots. You may need an extra hand to help with your first one. Other than that, if you pay close attention to how it came apart, and align the all the slots on the boot to the tabs on the tub front, and door shroud, than you shouldn't have any problems.